Category Archives: Science And Society
Aging Brain Decline
Thwarting a protein reverses it in aged mice:
The team used two techniques to block VCAM1: One of them genetically deleted the protein from the mice’s brains. Another injected an antibody that binds to it to stop anything else attaching. Both methods prevented signs of brain aging in young mice infused with old plasma and reversed existing markers in elderly mice brains. The researchers then gave the mice learning and memory tests. In one, which involves remembering which of several holes is safe to drop through, treated elderly mice performed as well as youngsters once fully trained. “The aged mice looked like they were young again in terms of their ability to learn and remember,” Dubal says. “It’s remarkable.”
Faster, please.
The Mann Lawsuit
We have filed a petition to the Supreme Court to grant a writ of certiori.
[Mid-morning update]
National Review has filed as well. Their petition is here.
[Update mid-afternoon]
A reminder that we have 24 amici curiae in this. I suspect they’ll join the petition, and Mann will remain amiciless.
[Update a couple minutes later]
I also see that in re-reading that (I may have noted it at the time), that they misspell “warm mongers” in citing the blog post, and attribute my Jerry Sandusky comment to Mark Steyn, who was quoting me.
[Friday-morning update]
Here’s the press release from CEI. And the Daily Caller has a story on it.
[Bumped]
Back To The Moon, This Time To Stay
My op-ed on one-way trips to the Moon is up at Space News.
[Update a few minutes later]
Related: Can Trump put people on the moon by 2024? It seems unlikely under current political circumstances.
The Precautionary Principle And Climate
Global Heating
Our children will never know what snow in Yosemite in mid-May looks like.
This has been an unusually wet winter, even in southern California. We got quite a bit of rain here early Sunday morning, with more showers expected in the next couple days and this weekend (Memorial Day!). The new growth, including in the burn areas up the coast north of Malibue, is tremendous. It’s still green, and will be into June or July, but it’s going to make a lot of fuel when the rains stop in late summer and fall. If every winter was like this one, we would no longer be living in a desert. That’s the kind of climate change I could definitely get behind. But we’d still be stuck with our crazy voters and government.
Electron Crystallography
An interesting breakthrough. I wonder where it might lead?
The Great Migration Into Space
Thoughts on Musk and Bezos from Peter Diamandis.
More thoughts, on science fiction versus science fact, from The Economist‘s Oliver Morton.
Etruscan
What did it sound like?
I’m always a little skeptical that they can be sure of things like this.
AOC’s Apocalypse
Hey, stupid conservatives, I was just kidding. Why can’t you take a joke?
[Update a few minutes later]
Thoughts from Treacher.